Reloaded Mets kick off courtship of Delgado

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Mets executives met with Carlos Delgado on Thursday, hoping the tactic that helped land Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez would lure the free-agent first baseman to New York.

Already in Puerto Rico with Beltran, general manager Omar Minaya and three others met with the slugger, 32, in a San Juan hotel, Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said.

"It was just kind of a meet-and-greet thing," Delgado's agent, David Sloane, said. "It was all noncontractual, just a chance for those guys to get to meet each other. The meeting was over in about 20, 30 minutes."

In his first visit to his native Puerto Rico since signing a seven-year, $119-million contract with the Mets on Tuesday, Beltran said the presence of two Hispanics in the front office - Minaya, who is Dominican, and his special assistant Tony Bernazard, a Puerto Rican - gave the Mets a family appeal that made him lean toward the team.

BREWERS SALE OKAYED: Major-league owners unanimously approved the team's $223-million sale from the family of commissioner Bud Selig to a group headed by Los Angeles investor Mark Attanasio. Attanasio, 47, said he is committed to keeping the team in Milwaukee.

A'S: Los Angeles developer Lewis Wolff, who has an option to buy the team, wants to get a baseball-only stadium in Oakland instead of moving the team to San Jose. Wolff, vice president for venue development for the team, said he will decide whether to buy the team from Steve Schott and Ken Hoffman in the next three months.

BRAVES: Raul Mondesi said he has agreed to terms on a one-year contract, but the team claims that's not true. Mondesi told the Associated Press he will earn $1-million, with bonuses that could bring the value up to $1.7-million. Team spokesman Brad Hainje said no deal has been reached.

PIRATES: Right-hander Kip Wells agreed to a one-year contract, then returned to the mound for the first time since he was sidelined Sept. 5 by an elbow injury and said he felt no pain.